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Biography

The creation of Pursuit of Momentary Happiness saw frontman Oli Burslem stand on the precipice between obsession and self-destruction. He sacrificed everything for his artistic vision, including his own financial security and mental health. Who invests every last penny into recording, to the point where they become homeless?

“I don’t want it to be a boo-hoo story,” says Burslem. “It was fun doing it. It’s nice to push yourself to the limit, and I can say now that I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks, because it’s a document of that time, and it’s honest and open, and I couldn’t have done or given much more.”

The result is a rare white-knuckle ride of an album in which his extreme commitment pulsates through every moment – much like Spiritualized’s Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space and Tame Impala’s Innerspeaker, both of whose creators had a part to play in its genesis — ranging from the gonzo-fuzz chaos of tracks like “Blinded By The Lies” through to the Roy Orbison-inspired heartbreak of “Words Fail Me.”

Yak had blazed a trail through the indie rock scene with their debut album Alas Salvation and ended that era of their career with a landmark show at London’s Scala. Burslem and drummer Elliot Rawson were eager to make a second record, but bassist Andy Jones departed for a new life in Australia. A chance meeting with Jay Watson from Tame Impala’s touring band resulted in Burslem hatching a plan to rehearse together in Melbourne before quickly recording the album at Tame mainman Kevin Parker’s studio in Perth — with Burslem stopping in Tokyo to focus on writing.

It didn’t work out. Burslem returned to the UK with no home, no money and no album. 18 hazy months passed, during which Yak found their new bassist Vinny Davies and then a fresh focus. Yak were introduced to Spiritualized chief Jason Pierce through his bandmate John Coxon, and Pierce encouraged them that they still had something worth pursuing. That resulted in new deals with Third Man Records and Virgin EMI, and Burslem committed to sorting out his personal situation… just as soon as he’d finished the album.

They headed to RAK Studios with producer Marta Salogni (Björk, Django Django) and spent 10 hectic days recording 29 songs, 11 of which feature on the album. Burslem then withdrew to a small home studio with Pierce to apply some finishing touches. Pierce added slide guitar and vocals to the finale “This House Has No Living Room,” which sails out on Burslem’s field recording of birdsong. Against all advice, his dedication resulted in one final trip, this time to New York to completely remix the album.

“They’ve set a marker for every borderline-insane newcomer emerging in the next decade.”

– DIY Magazine

“Every so often a new band will arrive clamoring that guitar music isn’t dead, as if they’re mid-CPR. Yak have crash-landed clutching its still-beating heart, wearing an irrepressible grin.”

– NME Magazine

“Yak shoot from the hip with an impetuous first-timers’ racket that’s rarely short of breathtaking.”

– Q Magazine

London trio Yak are excited to announce their sophomore album Pursuit of Momentary Happiness, due February 8, 2019 via Third Man Records / Virgin EMI. To ring in the announcement, the group has shared the new single “Fried” — listen HERE, and pre-order the album HERE. “Fried” comes after the release of the video for “Bellyache” earlier this year — watch HERE. The band has also announced a run of headline UK tour dates beginning in March 2019, which can be found below.

The creation of Pursuit of Momentary Happiness saw frontman Oli Burslem stand on the precipice between obsession and self-destruction. He sacrificed everything for his artistic vision, including his own financial security and mental health. Who invests every last penny into recording, to the point where they become homeless?

“I don’t want it to be a boo-hoo story,” says Burslem. “It was fun doing it. It’s nice to push yourself to the limit, and I can say now that I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks, because it’s a document of that time, and it’s honest and open, and I couldn’t have done or given much more.”

The result is a rare white-knuckle ride of an album in which his extreme commitment pulsates through every moment – much like Spiritualized’s Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space and Tame Impala’s Innerspeaker, both of whose creators had a part to play in its genesis — ranging from the gonzo-fuzz chaos of tracks like “Blinded By The Lies” through to the Roy Orbison-inspired heartbreak of “Words Fail Me.”

Yak had blazed a trail through the indie rock scene with their debut album Alas Salvation and ended that era of their career with a landmark show at London’s Scala. Burslem and drummer Elliot Rawson were eager to make a second record, but bassist Andy Jones departed for a new life in Australia. A chance meeting with Jay Watson from Tame Impala’s touring band resulted in Burslem hatching a plan to rehearse together in Melbourne before quickly recording the album at Tame mainman Kevin Parker’s studio in Perth — with Burslem stopping in Tokyo to focus on writing.

It didn’t work out. Burslem returned to the UK with no home, no money and no album. 18 hazy months passed, during which Yak found their new bassist Vinny Davies and then a fresh focus. Yak were introduced to Spiritualized chief Jason Pierce through his bandmate John Coxon, and Pierce encouraged them that they still had something worth pursuing. That resulted in new deals with Third Man Records and Virgin EMI, and Burslem committed to sorting out his personal situation… just as soon as he’d finished the album.

They headed to RAK Studios with producer Marta Salogni (Björk, Django Django) and spent 10 hectic days recording 29 songs, 11 of which feature on the album. Burslem then withdrew to a small home studio with Pierce to apply some finishing touches. Pierce added slide guitar and vocals to the finale “This House Has No Living Room,” which sails out on Burslem’s field recording of birdsong. Against all advice, his dedication resulted in one final trip, this time to New York to completely remix the album.

“They’ve set a marker for every borderline-insane newcomer emerging in the next decade.”

– DIY Magazine

“Every so often a new band will arrive clamoring that guitar music isn’t dead, as if they’re mid-CPR. Yak have crash-landed clutching its still-beating heart, wearing an irrepressible grin.”

– NME Magazine

“Yak shoot from the hip with an impetuous first-timers’ racket that’s rarely short of breathtaking.”

– Q Magazine

London trio Yak are excited to share the video for “Fried” from their their sophomore album Pursuit of Momentary Happiness, out tomorrow via Third Man Records / Virgin EMI. The video, which features frontman Oli Burslem as the co-host of a demented faux cooking show, is now available to stream or embed HERE. In addition to their extensive European tour dates, the band has added a March 4 show at Rough Trade in Brooklyn, NY.

The creation of Pursuit of Momentary Happiness saw frontman Oli Burslem stand on the precipice between obsession and self-destruction. He sacrificed everything for his artistic vision, including his own financial security and mental health. Who invests every last penny into recording, to the point where they become homeless?

“I don’t want it to be a boo-hoo story,” says Burslem. “It was fun doing it. It’s nice to push yourself to the limit, and I can say now that I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks, because it’s a document of that time, and it’s honest and open, and I couldn’t have done or given much more.”

The result is a rare white-knuckle ride of an album in which his extreme commitment pulsates through every moment – much like Spiritualized’s Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space and Tame Impala’s Innerspeaker, both of whose creators had a part to play in its genesis — ranging from the gonzo-fuzz chaos of tracks like “Blinded By The Lies” through to the Roy Orbison-inspired heartbreak of “Words Fail Me.”

Yak had blazed a trail through the indie rock scene with their debut album Alas Salvation and ended that era of their career with a landmark show at London’s Scala. Burslem and drummer Elliot Rawson were eager to make a second record, but bassist Andy Jones departed for a new life in Australia. A chance meeting with Jay Watson from Tame Impala’s touring band resulted in Burslem hatching a plan to rehearse together in Melbourne before quickly recording the album at Tame mainman Kevin Parker’s studio in Perth — with Burslem stopping in Tokyo to focus on writing.

It didn’t work out. Burslem returned to the UK with no home, no money and no album. 18 hazy months passed, during which Yak found their new bassist Vinny Davies and then a fresh focus. Yak were introduced to Spiritualized chief Jason Pierce through his bandmate John Coxon, and Pierce encouraged them that they still had something worth pursuing. That resulted in new deals with Third Man Records and Virgin EMI, and Burslem committed to sorting out his personal situation… just as soon as he’d finished the album.

They headed to RAK Studios with producer Marta Salogni (Björk, Django Django) and spent 10 hectic days recording 29 songs, 11 of which feature on the album. Burslem then withdrew to a small home studio with Pierce to apply some finishing touches. Pierce added slide guitar and vocals to the finale “This House Has No Living Room,” which sails out on Burslem’s field recording of birdsong. Against all advice, his dedication resulted in one final trip, this time to New York to completely remix the album.

Today, London-based trio Yak have released a new EP titled Atlas Complex. The EP features already released single “Am I Am Good Man?” alongside three other brand new tracks. Listen HERE.

The EP, largely recorded at Third Man and released through Third Man Records and Virgin EMI, follows on from the release of their critically acclaimed second album Pursuit of Momentary Happiness earlier this year.

Frontman Oli Burslem explains, “Atlas Complex was recorded between Nashville and South London at the beginning of this summer. The “atlas complex” is centred around an idea of losing all sense of everything. It’s a state of mind in which a person believes that the world is on their shoulders and they’re unable to deal with what they perceive as endless problems and uncertainty.”

Following the release of Pursuit of Momentary Happiness, the trio completed a month long UK and European tour, followed by 18 dates supporting Foals and performances at Glastonbury and Green Man festivals. This month they’ll play another run of headlines shows across the UK.

Atlas Complex EP track listing:

1. Am I A Good Man

2. Atlas Complex

3. There’s A Turtle In My Soup

4. They Come, They Go

Praise for Pursuit Of Momentary Happiness:

“Yak match raucous, restless energy with uncommon gravitas, making this the rare garage rock-informed record that aims for the upper reaches of Royal Albert Hall.” – Pitchfork

“Their turbo-charged guitar flamethrowers have been dusted off and wielded with a bold ferocity once again.” – Paste

“Yak are riotous and impossible to tame on their new LP.” – The Line of Best Fit (8/10)

“The trio’s second album is excessive but searches for contentment.” – NME (4/5)